I was just wondering, what other agents are doing to make there web presence better and delivers more hits and leads to there website? I do paid per click. Does anyone have a program that works awesome for them. I would like to learn more. Thanks!!!

Learn the basic of SEO through Google

SEO is an ideal way to go, but it really is not worth it unless you are willing to put in the time to build up links and constantly deliver quality content (among many other things).

Pay per click is a great way to go for fast and targeted traffic. You really have to know how the system works though or else you will be paying through the nose for traffic that doesn't convert (I've been there when I first started, and it wasn't pretty).

One thing you may consider is start developing a reputation for yourself on social networks (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, etc.). People seem to have some positive results by doing that.

I like to add my information to sites like: http://kijiji.ca/ http://www.craigslist.org Just use it as an online business card ,I wouldn't add individual properties but add it to the real estate services section. Also make one ad and save it. Then just copy and paste it to save some time.

blogging quality content

Link Building?

I find Craigslist works to an extent. I get good click through to our website and have picked up clients through it. The biggest problem is keeping it very up to date as there is so much traffic that old post are quickly pushed out of the first couple pages. Kijiji had not worked nearly as well for me.

Theres a saying: content is king.


If you have lots of good and useful information - nearly everything else will follow.

If you already run a PPC campaign then you should have the key phrases that work for you ready. Now, you can write articles around these key phrases and submit them to your favorite article directories (I recommend those who are dedicated to real estate but I am biased ). If you submit articles on a weekly basis you will see targeted traffic in a matter of few weeks.

The good thing is that it last much longer as opposed to PPC that it last as long as you run your campaign.

repa (RealEstateProArticles)

Basic SEO and F/U

That is true but every link has different value to different website. If a link is coming from highly relevant page to your site, it has more value then a link coming from less relevant page. Therefore articles should have a significant role for building relevant high value links.

repa

Yup, basic link building and SEO is the way to go. Also, maybe some social networking would be good too.

Getting involved in the virtual community is always useful.

Setting up a twitter account & engaging in conversations with others in your immediate area...

Posting USEFUL comments on blogs of others in your area. (NO SPAM, but useful comments that add value to the original blogger's post.)

The suggestions in this thread are certainly valuable but I believe that the solution is far less technical than SEO optimization, PPC campaigns and setting up various online community accounts.

The problem businesses have is that they have no opportunity to create a CONNECTION with the potential customers that visit their website. No means of engagement. No impetus for action. What you need to be successful in the online arena is to transform your website into a live sales agent. Enabling you and your employees to engage website visitors in real-time improves your opportunities to close more deals, start the sales process earlier and create a better online experience for your web visitors.

How do I do that you might be asking... The answer is simple - Live Chat on your website. There are various companies who provide this service, some with greater features, support and experience then others. I would be happy to provide some advice to you when choosing a live-chat company for your website. Just send me a PM and I'd be happy to provide my assistance.

nharrison, I thought about live chat just this morning. HOWEVER I have nobody to man the computer for me when I'm showing property, taking listing photos, uploading listings (important), feeding the family, etc. I have contact forms on every one of my pages, simple easy ones that ask only for a name and email and they get a response from me sometimes within minutes, almost always within an hour or two, unless like I said I am out showing property.

I don't want to be married to the computer and I don't have an assistant to do it.

NOW, here's my latest contribution!!!!!

I am posting videos from my real estate shows (virtual tour) to youtube. They have great google juice, I have found!

I didn't do it before because I wondered "Who the heck is gonna look for real estate on youtube?" I didn't believe those who say that people go to youtube for real estate. Actually, I still don't believe it much because the majority of folks are there to watch fun or silly stuff or tv shows.

HOWEVER< when I did a search on google looking for one of my blog posts, what is the #1 return????? MY YOUTUBE VIDEO.

That's good stuff!!!

Perky REALTOR, most live-chat applications have an offline response component to them. So, when you are unable to man the computer and monitor your website you can have online inquiries forward directly to your email address.

I for one as a consumer would be annoyed if there were a chat feature and it wasn't available - I dunno.

I think that the bottom line is that you should be online monitoring your website as much as possible. Most chat applications run in the background (like Outlook) so while you’re typing emails and working on your computer you can be actively monitoring your website. It will provide you with more opportunities to make more deals and of course make more money. Your customers are on your website. 84% use the Internet in their home search. And further, 73% of those viewed a home they saw online. You should be online with them!

Marketing and advertising often directs potential customers to your website, and Live Chat allows you to engage them as if they were in your office. Enabling you to answer questions, book appointments and respond immediately to customer requests. If you want to take advantage of your online presence - talk to your potential clients while they are on your site!

I can do the same thing when I'm online and they send a contact request form - in fact, I have surprised many people with my fast response time.

I have received the bulk of my business this year from either my website or my blog - so I know the statistics and the reasons to be online. If they want to chat, they can call me (my contact info is easily seen on every page of my site.) Simple non threatening contact forms are on nearly every page (on every page with listings), so when they find a listing they like they don't need to jump to another page to contact me.

Main difference - my contact forms are free.

Online chat has been discussed a few times before. If interested, check out
http://www.agentsonline.net/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/234181/2.html
http://www.agentsonline.net/forums/ubbth...html#Post200643
http://www.agentsonline.net/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/64810/1.html

Perky,

Do your contact request forms allow you to have a conversation with your customer at the same time they are searching your website? No? Live chat does. Do the forms allow you to direct your customer's browser to a property on your website that best suits their needs? No? Live chat does.

You mentioned that "when they find a listing they like they don't need to jump to another page to contact me." You must understand that a good live-chat application does not require the visitor to jump to another page. The idea is to have a live-chat icon on the listing page where the visitor can click and a small chat window opens so the visitor can continue browsing the listing while gathering particulars from the agent in the chat conversation.

Regarding having your client call you up. Consider this scenario: Your client is at work taking some time to research a property online and is unable to call you because their boss/ co-workers might find out. They would likely engage in a live-chat while at work because there is little to no risk involved in chatting with an agent compared to picking up the phone and calling – they can simply close the window. Additionally, many people prefer to remain anonymous until they are prepared to make a purchase decision. By using live chat the customer does not have to submit their email or provide any personal information.

I never said it did. My meaning was that unlike some websites that have a single "contact" page, I have contact forms on every single page.

Regardless, I'm not going to continue to argue it with you - I'm sure your application will work well with brand new agents with no business yet or with agents who have an assistant who can babysit the computer all day and half the night - I can do that sometimes but most days I'm gone for the day - showing properties, previewing properties, taking listing photos, etc.

While the buyers are on the internet, the rest of real estate is on location.

I think the chat is a neat thing and I tried to convince my former boss to do this when I was the secretary and had nothing else to do. But for me and most agents I know it would end up being a waste of money because they'd be sending out those offline messages more often than not!

I had a live-chat system in place for almost 2 years...never got a thing from it. I don't think it really fits the "real estate" game very well unless you do what perky said and have someone sitting there all day long to field questions...I have a contact form on every page, I have click-to-call on every page...I'm easily accessable when people are ready.

good quality content combined with link-building is what seems to be working for me. Both of which take time and patience...or lots of money to a good SEO company

Look into using a free virtual tour to help showcase your listings online. More and more people (your consumers) are starting their shopping process by looking online. Show them what you're offering with a great virtual tour. There are several out there and some are free. Look into www.tourvista.com, www.wellcomemat.com, www.tourfactory.com, www.realestateshows.com and others.

Well SEO is indeed important. And it goes with out saying. But what I cant understand are these agents who have near top rankings but very, very poor websites. They are still wondering why they are not getting the business they need.

Solution!
Here is what we are doing. We are in the middle of a complete redesign of our site. Ya, it's going to cost us a little. But we are going to stand out far and above the rest. One of my friends took the plunge in Sacramento and droped some good coin on a very, very fancy website. His site smokes the compattion.

You see, if you have a number one listing but a very shabby site you are in essence just turning off more people in numbers. Sure, you will get a lot of hits, but when someone sees your site and it is not attractive, well guess what? All that SEO is working against you.

Its just hard to imagine why realtor's put so much effort into their online presence only to have a poor appearance. And appearances in this industry are what counts. You don't sell real estate in this industry because everybody else is doing it. What you do is sell your self.

After seeing my designers portfolio and other real estate sites they have done we were sold! When it's complete no one else in our area is going to have a site like ours. No one.

So as SEO is, yes important you should consider a site that really looks good. Good luck.

Hi Carl - what's your friends url? I'm nosey

^^I think that's the point....he wants you to be nosey. LOL Interesting approach.

IMO here is what a real estate site needs. It has worked well for us so-far.
* Good quality photos
* Large photo size
* High photo resolution
* Good SEO

Making a nice website and getting it to rank high on the search engines by providing unique and useful content and by having links from authoritative websites in your field is a key factor for being successful online, although having a good domain name is also very important, having a domain name that is easy to remember and that is considered by people to be the logical choice for what they are searching for can give your website a sense of authority and will be easier to promote especially if it is targeted towards a certain city or area. IMO

I agree with all of the above. However, IMO, a good site is more important than SEO (as mush as SEO is important). There are great ways to drive traffic to a web site that can achieve great results.

We use a lot of email marketing tools (not spam) that puts are web site in front of a great number of relevant people.

Its hard to say which is more important, I think its more like a package deal and everything has to be paid attention to as far as the quality of the website, uniqueness and usefulness of the content, having the right domain name, keeping up with the SEO, getting good links, utilizing different online marketing methods, and even doing some old fashioned off-line marketing. IMO



(not meant as professional or legal advice)

Can't go wrong with YouTube. One way to stand out on youtube is to establish your own channel. This does wonders with you google rating. Of course, it helps to add to the channel consistently.

Blogging is so imperative these days. The good news is you can do it for free. Well, you do spend a bit a time. But hey, it's well worth the effort. Good luck!

How do you establish your own channel? I thought the channels were already there and you had to choose the appropriate one.

What I'm doing that has worked for others (in pieces) and now I'm getting it to work for me (as a whole):

* custom IDX real estate web site solution with individual URL SEO listings (we have about 7 thousand in my MLS)

* buyers are able to save homes to their profile with their personal account, along with auto-email option for new listings

* their personal accounts have a look and feel of sites that the newer generation is used to, such as myspace and facebook, including a buddy list, a wall to write on, photo gallery, and social bookmarking options for easy integration

* a forum just like agentsonline, where they can post questions and interact with the agent/broker/other members, including chatbox, and other features (no non brokerage agents allowed)

* a CRM, including a document management system for those leads turned buyer/seller, containing all related documents to the purchase/sale

* real estate attorneys, lenders, insurance underwriters, can login and have access to the customer's information and docs

* the accounts these users have on the site will keep them coming back even after the first sale

* can easily list all company events, open houses, continuing ed, with calendar program built in to site

* able to store and display training materials for agents

* able to do custom analytics (even real time) with more detail (including IP) than Google analytics

* can set up analytic reports based on the URL of a listing and have sellers login to view this info / or email it to them.

* every article written and saved is automatically a blog article where visitors can comment

* has a birthday box on the front page that will automatically display customer's birthday with their picture, and many other features that make the site personal, fun, and enjoyable.

* cell phone version of the site so cell phone users can access the lowbandwidth version of it (also for those cell phones that don't have full browser capabilities)

* site content can be "sent to mobile" by clicking a button which in turn sends the content to their cell phones via SMS

* guarenteed to be on the first page of Google search results for "<mycity> <mystate> real estate"

* plus many other administrative tasks that would probably bore you to death, such as the ability to block certain unwanted IP's from accessing the site (I've had to do this to my former broker...I did get a little kick out of that :-) )

For those interested, I'll let you know when it's finished and maybe you can take a tour and tell me what you think? For the cynics: this is not a sales pitch. I am not, and will not *ever* do such a site for anyone other than myself. I don't think I could survive having to do it again. Should be complete in about 30 days (I started months ago).

Cheers.

Sounds like you have it all covered there Integrity.

Google or You Tube Video's are sorted by Title, then the ywords in the description. They provide HUGE authority for Blogs, can be inserted into blogs and webpages and loaded to You tube as stand alone video's

Create a series of working with you video's that are local and topical.

My You tube video's can be found by searching David Pylyp
Add a video response, or comment, or rate please.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=david+pylyp&search_type=&aq=f

You will need to create a youtube account to comment; (register your email account)

Be creative.

Lets all help each other get better.